Introduction

This chapter gives the reader a brief introduction to the history of how this book came to be written and the roots of why the author sees the approach described in the book as one answer to the question, “What is essential in mathematics education?” The chapter also introduces how the actual experiences of his students guided him in seeing the significance of the students’ experience solving nonroutine problems and how it resulted in them becoming better mathematics students. Finally, the chapter outlines the content of the remaining chapters, giving the reader a sense of what the big picture is in terms of what they can expect from the contents of the book.